Chapter 91: What Makes a Divine General? The Secret Treasure of Chen

Chen lies south of the river, where literary splendor flourishes; even the woodcutters by the road and the travelers passing through can recite a line or two of verse. The present Emperor is doubly accomplished in calligraphy and painting, especially skilled in landscapes, and has considerable attainments in poetry and song as well.

As those above act, so those below follow; most of those in the palace understand a thing or two about poetry and song, and can catch the spirit of these two lines.

No brushwork on the face, only weight on the meaning; the restraint is especially deep.

Especially since this girl was already a rare beauty, her voice crystalline, and she sang in the soft Wu dialect, her tone clear as she sang it—for a moment one could not tell whether "the clouds desire robes, the flowers desire face" was sung of the Imperial Consort or of the girl singing the verse. Xue Shuangtao softly sang the next two lines.

"If not atop the Mountain of Gathered Jade—"

"Then we shall meet beneath the moon on the Jasper Terrace."

After the recitation, no one spoke for a long while. The Emperor murmured the poem to himself, shook his head and sighed: "Earlier I heard the one he wrote about the swordsman; at the time I felt that although his wit was sharp, there was always a streak of fierce resentment in it—'Today I show it to you, sir; who has an injustice?'"

"Does it mean my realm is not at peace?"

"Does it mean this land south of the river is not tranquil enough?"

"Whom is the edge of your whetted sword meant for? Whose injustice do you mean to speak of?"

"But today's poem is splendid in its literary grace, and truly pleases my heart."

Noble Consort Xue's brows and eyes were soft and noble; she smiled faintly and said: "That boy is only in his teens. I had heard he had been training at our house all along, practicing martial arts for ten years, but was held back by his father and unable to show his edge. That discontent clearly shows a longing to earn merit."

"'Today I show it to you, sir'—does it not mean he is willing to raise his sword to support the realm?"

"It is not right that Your Majesty is not pleased by a young talent's high spirits, but instead feels the resentment is too heavy."

This passage lightly brushed aside and altered the meaning of the young man's poem to better suit the Emperor's mind, while also quietly shaping for the young man an image of one who had trained for ten years and meant to display his ambitions. The Emperor could not help but feel a rising fondness for talent, and his earlier displeasure toward the boy over the matter of the noble houses and military merits was dispelled.

Noble Consort Xue smiled and said: "I rather like this poem. What does Your Majesty think?"

In private, she did not refer to herself as "this concubine."

She and the Emperor had been husband and wife for twenty years, deeply attached; now that she was finally with child, the Emperor cherished her. He patted her hand and said: "If you say you like it, then I like it."

"He is a fine lad."

Noble Consort Xue said softly: "I have heard that lately the Chancellor and his lot, and General Qi Junsong, have spoken ill of this boy. No matter what, he is a member of our Xue family; before he has even met anyone, he is being suppressed by them on all sides. Whom are they really pressing and taking against—is it that boy, or the child in my belly?"

The Chief Eunuch at the side stiffened, cold sweat breaking out.

The Emperor only smiled as usual and said: "They have merely failed to keep their own sons in order, got themselves mixed up in that roughneck Yue Qianfeng's affairs, and taken it out on a guest retainer of your Xue family. Do not overthink it. I am still waiting for you to give me a fine child."

"As for Li Guanyi, as you say, he is indeed a fine talent."

"Jingcai?"

The Chief Eunuch at the side bowed and said: "I am here."

The Emperor lifted his tea to drink and said lightly: "Draft an edict."

"Today, I have heard that Li Guanyi presented a poem, its words exceedingly splendid, and it greatly pleased my heart. He comes of a good family, and there is certainly no resentment in him. Bestow upon him a hundred taels of silver and a pair of precious jade. Tell Dantai Xianming and the others: in the struggles of the court, do not drag in the innocent. Let bygones be bygones."

By "bygones" he meant the deaths of those military-merit youths.

The Emperor set his tea down carelessly and said lightly: "Let it not be mentioned again."

Yuan Jingcai performed a bow: "Yes."

In his heart, however, he sighed, reflecting that Chancellor Dantai Xianming and the various noble houses, who had been using General Qi Junsong's son as their point of attack—when the noble houses, officials, imperial in-laws, generals, and civil officials were all about to quarrel, a single lightly spoken word from the Emperor had pressed down this not-so-small dispute.

The fighting would still go on, but Li Guanyi could no longer be dragged into it.

Those military-merit youths, then, had died for nothing.

【"Its words exceedingly splendid, and it greatly pleased my heart."】

These eight characters fixed Li Guanyi's identity as a lad of good family once and for all.

Most military-merit households no longer dared use that old matter to make trouble for him. He glanced at Xue Shuangtao standing over there, wondering whether this young Miss knew that she had just now nudged along a small dispute, and also given that Captain Zhenwei, who had not yet arrived in Jingcheng, an additional backer.

He saw the girl's slight sigh of relief, her hand hanging down and gripping her hem tightly.

A pair of eyes fixed intently ahead.

More intent than those candidates answering the exam.

He knew she was a little nervous reciting poetry before the Emperor.

Yuan Jingcai shook his head.

After all, she was still just a young Miss—how could she not be nervous?

He was only curious what skill that lad possessed, to make her go to such trouble and put her heart into it.

After finishing his tea, Noble Consort Xue personally tuned the qin and set the piece to music, singing out this poem. The Emperor tapped out the rhythm, when from outside came a sing-song announcement. The Emperor said helplessly: "I must go to the Great Sacrificial Hall. These past days I have been burning incense and praying every day; only when I come to you do I have a moment's peace."

He held Noble Consort Xue's hand, spoke many intimate words, and only then rose to leave.

Noble Consort Xue waited until the Emperor had gone far before calling Xue Shuangtao over. Xue Shuangtao helped her aunt, several months pregnant, to sit properly. The Noble Consort reached out and tapped lightly between Xue Shuangtao's brows, pretending to be vexed: "You little girl, what nerve."

Xue Shuangtao hugged her aunt's arm and shook it, acting coquettishly: "I only came to bring you the verses, Auntie—how could I have known His Majesty was here too? Auntie~ don't be angry anymore."

Noble Consort Xue had always been fond of this junior, Xue Shuangtao.

Seeing her act so coy, her brows and eyes charmingly innocent, so cute one wanted to take her in one's arms and ruffle her—

Let alone that she had not been angry to begin with; even if she truly had been, three parts of it would have melted away. Already smiling, she said: "You certainly know how to talk."

Xue Shuangtao said: "Could it be that Auntie doesn't like this poem?"

Noble Consort Xue said: "Such a fine poem—how could I not like it? Such poetic talent—'the clouds desire robes, the flowers desire face'—truly beautifully written. I only wonder, was it written for me, or for you?"

She teased, and Xue Shuangtao said: "Naturally it was written for you, Auntie."

Noble Consort Xue teased: "Then he hasn't written a poem for you?"

"Of course he has!"

Xue Shuangtao answered instinctively, but since that ci-poem contained her name, she could not very well produce it. Faltering, she said: "Th-then I'll bring it for you to see next time!" Noble Consort Xue smiled and nodded, patted her hand, and said: "Since you defend him so, and your father also thinks well of him—"

"Then when he enters the capital, I am holding a private banquet; do invite him as well."

Xue Shuangtao was delighted.

She could also see that this meant Li Guanyi now had a backer in Jingcheng. She always felt that with that young man's talent, once he came to the capital, even if he did not go looking for trouble, trouble would come looking for him; it was always better to have someone willing to lend a hand.

When she went back to write her letter that day, the girl packed a box of sugar-preserved plums.

He said that the Noble Consort liked poetry very much, and asked if, since today was a spring day, he could write her another poem.

He paused, then crossed that sentence out.

After thinking for a while, he only wrote eight characters.

Noble Consort Xue snatched her letter to read, and the young girl was so anxious she wanted to snatch it back, but her own aunt, relying on the fact that she was pregnant, made Xue Shuangtao not dare to touch her; Xue Shuangtao reached out to grab the letter, so anxious she was about to cry, and said: "Aunt, don't read my letter, I, I'm not like him, I can't write poetry."

"Oh? Can't write? Then I really must have a good look."

Noble Consort Xue opened it triumphantly to read, but saw that the young girl had written eight characters.

【Spring blossoms bloom, quietly awaiting your arrival】

Noble Consort Xue stood stunned for a long time in the spring breeze.

She sighed, returned the letter to Xue Shuangtao, rubbed the young girl's hair, saw that she was so angry her eyes were brimming with two big pools of tears, and said with a smile: "Where are you inferior to him?"

"It's just that these two lines are still not enough."

"But written like this, you're already no worse than his poetry."

【Spring blossoms bloom, quietly awaiting your arrival】

What does this mean?

The spring flowers have already bloomed; I am here, waiting for you to come.

……………………

Within the Mystical Realm.

Li Guanyi raised his war-halberd, pointing at the Xue Shen General ahead, his breathing still somewhat rapid; having unleashed three ultimate techniques in succession and even mobilized his Dharma Phase, his internal Qi was utterly depleted, and his body had already reached its limit. The defeated Xue Shen General, on the other hand, remained composed and said with a smile:

"Not bad; it's rare for you to make me lose by half a move."

"The qualification to dismantle this Mystical Realm, I'll leave it to you."

He casually tossed an object to Li Guanyi; it was a jade stone, and when it landed on Li Guanyi's body, it transformed into starlight and vanished. This was the qualification to rebuild the Mystical Realm, or rather, this was the foundation of the Mystical Realm itself.

As long as Li Guanyi and Yaoguang gathered together, they could find a suitable place where they were, and rebuild the Mystical Realm.

Once the item was in hand, Li Guanyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment this breath relaxed.

The spirit, energy, and vitality that had just been supporting his body all dispersed at once; the war-halberd in his hand seemed immensely heavy, and with a boom it fell to the ground. Li Guanyi leaned on the war-halberd, gasping for breath, his body hair standing on end, sweat pouring out all at once; he had to control his muscles and meridians to seal in his body hair, to prevent the loss of spirit, energy, and vitality.

Yet he discovered that apart from exhaustion, his body was perfectly fine.

Healthy as hell.

Fiercely strong.

The Xue Shen General said: "Golden Flesh and Jade Bone, Dragon Sinews and Tiger Marrow — since ancient times, the greatest affliction of generals has been that, due to successive fierce battles, the scale and frequency of fierce combat for famous generals who campaigned across the realm during chaotic times is far beyond what those wandering heroes of the Jianghu can compare to."

"Too-frequent campaigns and slaughter will cause a martial artist to be injured. If the injuries are properly healed, it doesn't damage the essence and foundation. But when fierce battles are too frequent, often the injuries from one battle haven't healed before the next comes. A Divine General at their peak is invincible, but after a hundred battles and fame, hidden wounds accumulate, and in the end, they cannot die a peaceful death."

"But with your foundation and physique, you need not worry about this."

"Your injuries recover quickly, your defense is powerful, like a dragon or tiger taking form."

"Golden Flesh and Jade Bone, hard for blades to wound — this is the qualification of an unparalleled fierce general."

Only now did Li Guanyi realize the might of this foundation of his.

It wasn't just defense, but endurance.

It was a terrifying recovery ability, the qualification to engage in Bai Ren combat with an opponent, trading injury for injury without any scruple. He clenched his fist, felt the surging power of blood rushing rapidly, and curiosity arose in his heart. He said: "You just mentioned, a combined Dharma Phase strike?"

The Xue Shen General said: "Yes, or rather, it's a combined Qi strike."

"In our era, roughly at the Fourth Floor one could come into contact with the Dharma Phase; at the Fifth Floor realm, one could harness the Qi of an army of ten thousand to supplement the might of one's own Dharma Phase…"

"You also know that the Dharma Phase is the convergence of spirit, energy, and vitality. If one can, through formations, channel the power of tens of thousands into the crucible of this Dharma Phase, a terrifying might can be forged. This is also why, beneath military battle formations, even Jianghu Grandmasters must avoid their sharp edge."

"A standard army corps of ten thousand requires thirty thousand to fifty thousand support personnel; if there are cavalry among them, even more is needed — basically, fifty to sixty thousand in total. Among them, two thousand are Duke Jingwu martial artists, at least two hundred are Second Floor martial artists, ten are Third Floor deputy generals, five are Fourth Floor assistant generals, and the reserve troops are also martial artists."

"The spirit, energy, and vitality of so many people converged into the body of a single Wu Dao powerhouse."

"How strong do you think the Dharma Phase unleashed in that single instant would be?"

"This is the war-soul of the military battle formation. Only one who can command ten thousand can be called a famous general. A Dharma Phase that converges the primordial-spirit fire of ten thousand, hurled out — what Jianghu experts, what Wudao Sect Grandmasters, all become like ants."

"And if there are two famous generals whose cultivated techniques ultimately converge into Dharma Phases that can coordinate with each other—"

"For example, a Dragon-Tiger combined strike."

"Or the Five Elements, or Yin-Yang; often a greater power can be unleashed."

"For example, if there are two Divine Generals, one's Dharma Phase like wind, the other's blazing flames burning the heavens, when the two join hands, a scene sufficient to raise fire and burn the heavens can occur; the weak can defeat the strong. This kind of method, broadly speaking, is battle-formation coordination; narrowly speaking, it is a combined Dharma Phase strike."

"It requires a hundredfold tempering and mutual trust, hence it is difficult."

"But once used, it can often sway the situation of the battlefield."

"And you, bearing multiple Dharma Phases, as long as you have the power to command an army of over ten thousand, you are enough to become a famous general, to produce the coordination of many Dharma Phases; for the weak to defeat the strong would be a commonplace matter."

The Xue Shen General suddenly sighed: "What a pity."

Li Guanyi was puzzled: "What?"

The Xue Shen General said softly: "It's a pity I wasn't born in your era. In the chaotic times of the realm, I truly wish to fight the grown you, to slaughter each other."

Li Guanyi stepped back half a pace and said: "It would be you slaughtering me."

"Old man, don't go rambling sentimentally here."

The Xue Shen General burst into loud laughter.

Li Guanyi hesitated for a moment, sat cross-legged there, and asked curiously:

"Then what level are the top ten famous generals under heaven?"

The Xue Shen General raised an eyebrow and said: "What, you've made enemies with them?"

Li Guanyi said: "No, I'm just asking."

The Xue Shen General thought for a while and said: "I don't know if the famous generals of your era have changed, but in chaotic times, with culture in decline, Wu Gong and slaughter will only grow stronger. In my era, there was one standard for the qualification of the top ten."

He held up one finger: "A hundred thousand."

"A general who personally leads an army of a hundred thousand, unleashes a super-large campaign that engulfs the Nine Provinces, with over a million warriors taking part, and yet the army does not fall into chaos, orders are strictly followed, and the enemy can be defeated—this counts as a 【Divine General】."

"Unleashing a campaign on the scale of a million…"

Li Guanyi's pupils contracted as he murmured.

A million martial artists, over two hundred thousand of them Border-Entering Warriors.

They took up blades and swords and went to slaughter.

Dharma Aspects roared in the sky, famed generals galloped across the battlefield, the sound of roars and the clash of blades and swords enough to engulf the Central Plains—one wrath and the world is startled—this is the peak power of a chaotic age, and his enemy, the true Bai Hu Da Zong, is precisely such a top commander capable of leading an army on the scale of a hundred thousand, and with reserves and supply personnel added, that is an army of several hundred thousand.

Li Guanyi felt the road ahead was long.

Xue Shen Jiang waved his hand and said: "Speaking of which, where are you headed?"

Li Guanyi briefly described his trip to Jiangzhou City.

Xue Shen Jiang said: "Oh, Jiangzhou City, the State of Chen—it's Chen Xingyuan's descendant."

Xue Shen Jiang stroked his chin, looked at the youngster over there who had struggled to sit up, holding a brush dipped in ink, eyes wide open, brazenly examining his own forehead without the slightest concealment, and laughed: "How about a deal—you don't write the tally mark on my forehead, and I'll tell you a secret."

Li Guanyi bared his teeth, his gaze blazing.

That was the flame of vengeance.

"No deal!"

"That tally mark today, I'm definitely writing it!"

"Old fellow!"

"Winning felt pretty good before, didn't it?"

Xue Shen Jiang said leisurely: "It's my old friend, the founding ancestor of the State of Chen."

"The good stuff buried back then in Jiangzhou City."

"I think you must be interested."

Xue Shen Jiang's lips curled up little by little as he spread his hands slightly: "Back then, both he and I were feared by the Emperor of Zhongzhou; I'm lazy by nature and have already left behind such a measure, so given his temperament, how could he not have hidden something away?"

Li Guanyi's movements suddenly froze, and Xue Shen Jiang said leisurely:

"It's a mount."

"A Fire Qilin."